In a disturbing development, cyber criminals are now setting their sights on social media influencers, specifically targeting women influencers, by masquerading as reputable brands or agencies offering attractive collaboration opportunities. These nefarious individuals are manipulating the trust of these influencers to extract personal information, photos, and videos under the pretense of professional partnerships. Leveraging advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deepfake technology, the criminals are able to manipulate this content to create compromising material, which they later use for nefarious purposes such as blackmail or extortion.
The Bengaluru police have sounded the alarm on this alarming trend. City police Commissioner B Dayananda has shed light on how cybercriminals are taking advantage of social media platforms to entice influencers with fraudulent collaboration offers. These scammers are gathering personal data, photos, and videos, which are then altered to intimidate the victims. They demand money from the victims by threatening to share the manipulated content with their family members or publish it on social media.
In light of this growing threat, the authorities are urging the public to exercise caution when interacting with unknown individuals on social media. In the event of such incidents, citizens are encouraged to contact the cybercrime helpline number ‘1930’ or seek assistance from the nearest police station.
A senior officer revealed to TNIE that cybercriminals are closely monitoring the accounts of young content creators in order to entice them with deceitful offers for advertisements and collaborations. Young women are often the primary targets, with criminals using the threat of sharing manipulated images or videos with their families or on social media to extort money from them. Users are advised to be vigilant about unsolicited partnership proposals and to verify the legitimacy of offers by reaching out to brands or agencies directly through official channels.
Furthermore, the officer disclosed that scammers frequently request ‘trial’ videos for projects, supplying their own content which they later alter for extortion purposes. Additionally, in some instances, scammers are distributing APK links disguised as collaboration forms to harvest sensitive data from unsuspecting individuals.
It is imperative for social media users, especially influencers, to exercise caution and scrutinize any collaboration offers that come their way. By remaining vigilant and verifying the authenticity of requests, individuals can protect themselves from falling victim to cybercriminals who are leveraging social media to perpetrate their illicit activities.